The Lake Forest College football team trailed by two touchdowns and led by one before dropping a 28-25 decision in overtime at Illinois College on Saturday.

The Blueboys led 14-0 after the first quarter and neither team scored in the second. A 45-yard completion from Forester freshman quarterback Richard Stallworth to senior wide receiver Tommy Carberry highlighted the opening drive of the second half and junior running back Vance Cooper finished it off by diving just inside the left pylon for a 2-yard score with 9:35 remaining in the third quarter.

Cooper ran for a game-high 92 yards on 22 attempts and the touchdown was the first of his collegiate career. Carberry finished the contest with 205 all-purpose yards, including a team-high 83 on five receptions. Stallworth finished his first career start with 211 passing yards on 16 completions.

The visitors tied the score on the first play of the fourth quarter. With the ball at midfield, Stallworth dropped back and launched a pass up the left sideline to sophomore wideout Jack Lewis, who caught it in stride just inside the 10-yardline and continued sprinting into the end zone.

After punting on their next possession, the Foresters took the lead with a 10-play, 60-yard drive that sophomore tailback Joseph Clark finished off with a three-yard plunge into the end zone by junior tailback Joseph Clark. Unfortunately for Lake Forest, Clark's first career touchdown was followed by a bad snap and fumble on the extra point attempt, leading to a Blueboy return for two points to make the score 20-16.

While the defense scoring two points on an extra point attempt is rare, it actually happened twice on Saturday. Illinois College pulled ahead 22-20 on a touchdown with 1:54 to play but the extra point attempt was blocked and returned 94 yards to the end zone by Forester sophomore defensive back Kaden Kern.

Lake Forest drove inside the 10-yardline in the first possession of overtime but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by freshman Hudson Schambach. Illinois College answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass to win the game.

The Foresters out-gained the Blueboys 320-295 on the afternoon. Senior linebacker Charlie Fordon led the Lake Forest defense with nine tackles, including a sack and an addition tackle for loss. Kern and junior linebacker Jackson Sander added seven stops apiece and two of senior defensive lineman Michael Kelley's six tackles occurred behind the line of scrimmage.

Saturday's game was the Midwest Conference opener for both teams and the loss dropped the Foresters' overall record on the season to 0-2.

Lake Forest will play its 2025 home opener against Monmouth College next Saturday afternoon at 1:00.